The Power
The Power is a mysterious, supernatural source of untold power, which exists within the eldest, male descendants of a 17th Century coven of witches and warlocks. The Power's most outstanding, physical trait is that, whenever used, it causes its user's eyes to flash and/or turn "black as night", depending on the level of The Power that is employed by the user. Despite the great power it grants the user, The Power comes at a price; each time a user that has Ascended on their eighteenth birthday uses The Power, he loses some of his life essence and, soon enough, slowly begins to age at an accelerated rate each time he summons The Power. In addition to this factor, The Power is highly addictive and many users who don't possess strict willpower can become consumed with The Power. Biography Begining No one really knows how The Power came to be. Not even the Book of Damnation recorded its begining, but those who have mastered it in the past have always been hunted. 17th Century In the middle of the 17th Century, many escaped the brutal witch hunting in England and France by coming to America. As the brutal persecution of those with The Power spread throughout Salem, Massachusetts, the families of Ipswich formed a Covenant of silence. The fifth family, the Putnams, however, were banished due to their lust for more power. Ascension Ascension is the process in which a warlock's power fully matures. Ascension occurs on a warlock's 18th birthday, at the exact moment of their birth (11:12 PM for Caleb's case, as shown in the film). It is a painful and frightening process for the warlock, as his body is overwhelmed with new power. A warlock's Ascended power is described as being a thousand times stronger than their pre-Ascension abilities, and therefore extremely seductive. One of the other negatives to Ascending is that when the user achieves this, The Power becomes their very life. Thus, when one uses it too much it becomes uncontrollable. Powers and Abilities The Power remains dormant within the male user until his 13th birthday, during which the user "gets a taste" of The Power. Caleb Danvers described his first "taste" of The Power as a kind of test. The user is granted untold power and grows more powerful with each year until he Ascends to full power on the eve of his 18th birthday. Telekinesis/Psychokinesis Telekinesis is the most visible of a warlock's abilities. This allows them to perform a variety of effects that defy gravity; ranging from falling from great heights without harming themselves to flying or even the levitation of various objects, such as paper. They can use this ability offensively by creating concussive blasts powerful enough to knock people a few feet away. Increased Strength Warlocks can increase their strength to considerable levels. Pyrokinesis Warlocks can ignite and fuel fires with the Power. Mediumship/Clairvoyance Warlocks can see the conjured spirits of the deceased, particularly Darklings. Power Sensing Warlocks can sense when one of their own is using The Power. In some cases, the sensing of one using The Power can awaken another from their slumber. Glamour/Shapeshifting The Power bestows the ability to "glamour" or descieve others by taking on the appearance and voice of another person. Chase Collins displayed this ability when he took Caleb Danvers' appearance. As none of the other Sons of Ipswich displayed this power, this suggests that glamour is exclusive to Ascended warlocks. Portal Creation When Caleb Danvers Ascended and was willed his father's portion of The Power, he displayed the ability to open a portal to an unknown, fiery dimension to banish Chase Collins. This may be an ability attributed to those that have Ascended. Aerokinesis The power to control the wind. Atmokinesis The power to influence the weather. Chase Collins used this power to make it rain outside of Putnam Barn, before his and Caleb's big battle. Levitation The power to defy gravity and hover or maneuver freely in the air or even fly. Caleb uses this power during his fight with Chase in Putnam Barn. May be an extension/aspect of telekinesis/psychokinesis. Astral Projection The power to project one's consciousness and senses beyond and away from the physical body. When Sarah got out of the shower to investigate the broken light bulb, that smoky being behind her could have been a case of Astral Projection; the inference is that it is Chase stalking her. This power may have been used by the head of the Putnam family prior to said family being hunted down during the witch hunts in the 17th Century in order to visit people in their dreams. Teleportation The power to instantaneously disappear from one place and reappear in another. This power is shown all throughout the film, when characters would suddenly appear out of nowhere. Weaknesses and Drawbacks Addictiveness As each time the user makes use of The Power, either for helpful or harmful purposes, they become addicted to it, and as a consequence, seek to use The Power much more than is necessary. Unless one has a strict will against the addiction of their powers, they can't handle the addiction and become consumed by The Power's seductive nature. Willing The users of The Power can also do what is called "willing". It's the act of giving up your life to gift someone else with The Power which you possess - you die in the process of willing it away. Chase made his father "will" his powers to him, and with that and having Ascended already, he became the powerful warlock that he is in the movie. He even tried to make Caleb "will" his powers to him through coercion and then through force, but Caleb never did. Chase was close to killing Caleb, but Caleb's father "willed" his powers to his son at the request of his wife, Evelyn. With the power he inherited from his father, Caleb managed to create a portal and sent Chase into it, sending him to parts unknown.